WAPA Statewide Conference Sept. 25-26 at Monona Terrace in Madison

The Wisconsin Chapter of the American Planning Association will hold its fall conference, "Planning Wisconsin Style," on September 25-26 to discuss planning issues in Wisconsin. The conference, to be held at the newly completed Monona Terrace Convention Center, will feature issues of special interest to Wisconsin planners.

Thursday's program will include sessions on economic development, land use and growth management, urban design, transportation, and emerging planning issues, such as food systems planning and telecommunications planning. On Friday, Stuart Meck, APA's principal investigator for the "Growing Smart" program, will explain how APA is drafting the next generation of model planning legislation.

The Monona Convention Center provides a fitting site for a conference about planning in Wisconsin. Designed in 1938 by renowned Wisconsin architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, Monona Terrace offers a case study in the frustrations of plan implementation. With the sweeping vistas of Monona Terrace to inspire, Wisconsin planners will have an opportunity to hear about the critical planning issues being addressed in Wisconsin communities across the state.

Land Use Planning on the Agenda

Several of the ten concurrent sessions will address land use planning issues. Developing and implementing comprehensive planning at the county level, rural land preservation, and boundary agreements will be discussed by practicing planners from around the state.

Economic Development and BIDs

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are becoming a more and more common approach to community economic development. Brian O'Connell and Bob Trimmier will present the City of Milwaukee's experiences in using BIDs to stimulate investment in urban business corridors. Chuck Law, UW--Extension Local Government Center, will present a wide range of case examples of the use of BIDs in smaller Wisconsin communities.

Urban Design Issues

Planning in Wisconsin is becoming more and more involved in urban design, both as it relates to the physical function of community facilities and the as it relates to the feel and character of the environment those facilities create.

Two session of the conference will highlight urban design issues. One session examines the implementation of neotraditional design in Wisconsin communities. A second session on urban design will showcase recent and ongoing urban design projects in Wisconsin.

Bill Lockery, City of Green Bay Planning Department, will discuss the Green Bay Urban Redevelopment Plan. Peter Park, Director of City Development for the City of Milwaukee, will discuss a proposal to tear down a segment of freeway in downtown Milwaukee. The objective of this proposal is to knit the downtown back together, reversing the adverse effects of freeway building in the 1960s and 1970s. Kevin Pomeroy then will present small town urban design efforts conducted under Wisconsin's Mainstreet Program.

Transportation Planning

Two sessions at the conference will focus on transportation issues. One session presents novel solutions to the "reverse commute" problem and how these solutions relate to welfare reform. As W-2 is implemented, planners will be involved in improving the mobility and job opportunities of welfare recipients as they join the workforce. A second transportation session examines the impact of highway improvement projects in Whitewater, Fond du Lac, and Middleton.

Emerging Issues: Telecommunications and Food Systems

The telecommunications revolution is hitting Wisconsin communities. Cellular telephone and personal communication service providers are scouring cities and towns to find sites for transmission towers to fill service gaps. A session on this "New World of Telecommunications" will provide an overview of the legal issues, the technical needs of cellular and PCS service providers, and the ways in which local communities must plan for, and sometimes around, telecommunication towers.

If planners thought until recently that telecommunications was outside of their purview, many of us still spend little if any time planning the food systems for our communities. We plan transportation systems, environmental systems, housing systems, and water systems, but ensuring an adequate supply and distribution of food has barely occupied the attention of planners--until now. Professors Jerry Kaufman and Kami Pothukuchi of UW--Madison's Department of Urban and Regional Planning, will discuss why planners ought to be more involved in planning the food system.

Growing Smart--Wisconsin Style

Friday's program takes a hard look at the issues in growth management and land regulation. APA's "Growing Smart" initiative offers one perspective on the direction planning legislation should take in the coming decades. Planners know that this is not the only, or even the most popular, perspective; others are active on the political stage advocating changes in the way local planning works.

Conference participants will have an opportunity to hear key interest groups present different viewpoints on the direction that land use planning should take in Wisconsin. An expert in conflict resolution will facilitate a dialogue among representatives of local government; business, labor and real estate interests; agriculture, environment and public interest groups; state agencies; and legislators.